A new day and new parrots! Having spent the night in Griffith, NSW we swung north to the little scenic town of Lake Cargelligo. One species in particular was of keen interest to our group, the Cockatiel. An hour and a half later we connected with a local couple that like us, love parrots, except several species of parrots are yard birds for them! And that included Cockatiels!
Rebecca & Sandy (middle) were our hosts at the family farm and before we had actually got to the driveway we spotted our first wild Cockatiels! They were avoiding the huge tractor trailer trucks on the highway as they foraged at the side of the road!
Fortunate for us there were dozens more Cockatiels up ahead and very much accustomed to seeing people working on the farm. Being somewhat people-acclimated this allowed us some great opportunities to view them up close!
We had a scrumptious lunch with our super generous Aussie farm hosts yet it was hard to concentrate on food when all around us were Red-rumped Parrots, Galahs, Cockatiels, Ringnecks and Blue-bonnet parrots! Not to mention a shy Bowerbird that guarded his quirky junk-filled nest near the farm buildings.
Blue Bonnet Parrot (below left) & Australian Ringneck (Mallee subspecies) Common farm birds!
We also got to enjoy local Australian culture since it was sheep mustering and sheering time!
Avian Discovery 